


Race You to the Top of the Morning

by Icarus (Slickarus)



Category: Spring Awakening - Sheik/Sater
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fergalicious is a great song, Friendship, Georg and Otto are also in it but just for a sec, Mountaineering, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-14
Updated: 2017-07-14
Packaged: 2018-12-02 05:46:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11503011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Slickarus/pseuds/Icarus
Summary: It's Melchior's birthday, Ilse can never turn down a challenge, and they're both determined to climb this mountain.





	Race You to the Top of the Morning

**Author's Note:**

  * For [plumberkatherine](https://archiveofourown.org/users/plumberkatherine/gifts).



> Hello! This is a fic for plumberkatherine, who requested platonic Melchior/Ilse. Enjoy!
> 
> Oh yeah, title is from the Secret Garden because I'm a nerd.

**11:28 pm**

_ “Climb every mountainnnn,” _ Georg slurred into the microphone.  _ “Ford every streeeeam.” _

“Dude, we need to get him home,” Otto said. “I guess I’m driving.”

“But that means everyone will be gone,” Melchior whined. “It’s not even  _ late.” _

“Not everyone,” Ilse said, kicking him under the table.

“Yeah, but you’re mean to me.”

“Look, if I don’t drive Georg home, he might end up drowned in a gutter. Happy birthday.” Ilse snorted.

“It’s not till tomorrow.”

“Happy early birthday, then.”

_ “Climb every mountaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaain,” _ Georg wailed, higher this time, as Otto dragged him away from the karaoke machine.

“Climb every mountain, yeah right,” Ilse muttered as she watched them go. “He’s so wasted, he probably couldn’t go up a flight of stairs.”

“Oh, like you’re such a mountaineer. You’d probably be slower than Georg. At least he has determination.”

“Is that a  _ challenge _ , Melchior?” The familiar words made Melchior grin.

“Maybe.”

“Okay,” Ilse said. “I’m settling this. Right now. Let’s go.”

“Where are we going?”

_ “I’m _ going to go climb a mountain, and you’re going to come so that you can watch me do it.”

“Not if I climb the mountain first.”

 

**12:14 am**

It turned out the nearest mountain that they could feasibly climb (that wasn’t closed all night) was two hours away. And yeah, they were reckless, but they weren’t  _ idiots _ . Ilse drove them to Melchior’s apartment so that he could get sneakers and some water bottles. Ilse already had her sneakers in the car for when she went to the gym, so she waited outside until he came out holding his water bottles and some granola bars.

“How long have you had those?” Ilse asked as he slid into the passenger’s seat.

“Only, like, two years. They keep, right?”

“If you die on this damn mountain I am not saving you.”

 

**1:36 am**

Melchior refused to fall asleep, so they kept the radio going until it got staticky as they drew farther and farther from the city.

“You can plug in your phone, if you want,” Ilse said after two minutes of straight static. “I guess it is your birthday.”

“Okay,” Melchior said as he reached into his pocket. “Wait. Fuck.”

“What?”

“I must have left it in my other pants.”

“Remind me again how you were at the top of our class? Because you’re an idiot.”

“Can we listen to music on your phone?”

“I need to save the battery so that if we  _ die, _ we can get help.”

“But we’d be dead. No one could help us.”   
“I swear to god I will turn this car around.”

“Okay, fine. Do you have any CDs?”

“Check the glove compartment, but I probably haven’t gotten any new CDs since-”

“Fergie?” Melchior cracked up. “I used to think you were cool.”

“Okay, number one, I was sixteen. Number two, Fergalicious is a timeless classic, so put in the CD and shut up.”

 

**2:34 am**

As if by magic, the music finished just as they pulled up to the park parking lot.

“Heh, park parking lot.”

They were getting a little delirious.

Predictably, they were the only ones there.

“Hey, Ils, do you have a flashlight?”

“Honestly? I might. Check the trunk.”

“All I’m seeing is this dead body.” Ilse shoved Melchior in the shoulder.

“Come on, let’s climb this mountain.”

“The website actually refers to it as a peak.”

“I never should have taken you,” Ilse muttered as she walked towards the trail. “I should have just sent you pictures from the top.”

 

**3:18 am**

They walked along silently for awhile, the only sound coming from their feet on the dirt. They would never admit it later, when they told their friends, but the trail was almost pitch-black, so they held hands. Sometimes the trees would rustle and one of them would yelp, but for the most part, the walk was rather peaceful.

“I really hope we’re on the path,” Melchior mentioned out of nowhere. “What if we accidentally strayed and we’re about to walk right into a river- woah!” He stumbled forward and Ilse shrieked, but then he started laughing and she knew he had faked a fall.

“You’re the worst mountain partner.” She swatted at him, but stumbled a little when he wasn’t where she was expecting. “I swear to god, if you sneak up on me, I will start crying. I mean it.”

“Okay, okay.” She felt his hand brush her arm and she grabbed it tightly.

“I’m not letting you go, bastard.”

 

**5:02 am**

“Holy shit,” Melchior breathed. “We did it.”

Stretching out before them, lit only by the slightest bits of sunlight, was the rocky peak looking out onto the forests below. Ilse climbed up onto a boulder and sat down triumphantly.

“I told you I could.”

Melchior was too in awe (and too tired) to mention that A. this was, technically, a peak, and B. they’d both climbed it pretty slowly. Instead he climbed up to sit next to Ilse, eat his shitty granola bars, and wait for the sun to come up.

“When we’re finished,” he said. “I bet I can make it down faster than you.”

“Is that a challenge?”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Be sure to leave feedback (kudos and comments make the world go round) and I do take requests, either in the comments or on my platforms:  
> Tumblr [(theater specific)](https://thereinkiss.tumblr.com/)[(main)](http://zartharn.tumblr.com/) or [Twitter](https://twitter.com/slickarus), or just come say hi!  
> Have a good day!


End file.
